There has been significant interest in developing laser systems which can be used to treat various forms of vascular lesions. The type of vascular disorders that have been investigated include port wine stains, face veins, telangiectasis, and birth marks. A wide variety of medical laser systems have been proposed and introduced to treat these various disorders. In most prior systems, the laser is used to irradiate the surface of the skin. The laser energy penetrates through the skin and is absorbed in the blood, which coagulates and collapses the vein.
Many of these prior art laser systems have shown promise, particularly when used to treat small, surface veins. However, significant problems have been encountered when these systems are used to treat deeper veins, most commonly found on the lower extremities. More specifically, in order to treat deeper veins, relatively high laser powers are necessary. When using these high powers, surface scarring can occur as well as significant changes in skin coloration.
Due to the problems outlined above, deeper veins are most often treated surgically, by cutting the skin and physically tying off the vein. This approach is often used in conjunction with injecting the vein with an agent which essentially poisons the cells, in a procedure known as sclerotherapy. Unfortunately, these surgical approaches also have problems including pain, pigmentation and telangiectatic matting.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop an alternative method for treating veins which does not have the drawbacks associated with the prior art approaches.